LeftyFretz

After 40 years of manufacturing guitars, Korean musical instrument brand Samick hired industry veteran Greg Bennett to give their range of guitars an extreme makeover.  This new Samick range, now under the name of Greg Bennett Guitars, features a wide array of professional level parts such as Duncan designed pickups, Wilkinson hardware and great woods sourced from all over the world.

Unfortunately at present Greg Bennett does not offer too many of their guitars left handed, with there being only five available in total.  There are two lefty electric guitars, two acoustics and one bass guitar on offer, so they do manage to cover most bases with this humble offering.  However, it would be nice to see a larger selection in the future…

Let’s take a look at what’s on offer from Greg Bennett guitars…

Greg Bennett Avion AV3 Left Handed Guitar

• Mahogany body
• Bound, carved, flamed top
• Bound, mahogany set neck
• Rosewood fingerboard (12″ radius)
• 22 fret, 24″ scale
• Grover™ A102-C, 14:1 ratio tuners
• Stop tailpiece with adjustable bridge
• Dual humbucker pickups
• 2 volume and 2 tone controls
• 3-way selector switch

Greg Bennett Malibu MB1 Lefty Guitar

Lakewood Guitars is a German guitar company founded in 1986 by owner Martin Seeliger.  The company specialises in producing beautfiful hand-crafted acoustic guitars for musicians all over the world.

As with many other brands who concentrate on acoustic instruments, Lakewood are another fantastic company who produce all of their guitars in a left handed version.  When I got in touch with Lakewood they did have a few left handed guitars in stock, but expect to special order if you decide to take the plunge.

There are far too many guitars to display in a single article so I have given a brief overview of the main ranges from Lakewood below.  I counted 44 different guitars in total and that doesn’t even include country specific options.  There is a sample image for each series but keep in mind that you will find far more guitars and options on the Lakewood website!  Let’s take a look…

Lakewood Natural Series Left Handed Acoustic Guitars

Precious woods, pure and untreated, display their natural beauty in the most direct path from the material to the eye of the beholder, reduced to the absolute basics. No more, but no less either, since every guitar in the Natural Series is built to the same high standards of guitar artistry shared by all Lakewood instruments. The language of form allows the materials to speak for themselves. Each instrument is made up of finely tuned elements – a series where less is definitely more.

Lakewood Deluxe Series Left Handed Acoustic Guitars

Tanglewood Guitars is a British guitar brand, founded in 1990 in England by owner Dirk Kommer.  Until recently this brand was almost exclusively sold within the UK, however after winning several industry awards the company has expanded and is now distributed in over 35 countries worldwide.

Although primarily known for their fantastic and affordable acoustic guitars, Tanglewood do produce a range of beginner lefty electric guitars and basses of which 5 are currently available left handed.  Hopefully we’ll see this range expand as the company grows!

Let’s take a look at what’s on offer from this British company…

Tanglewood TSB 58 CSB LH Left Handed Guitar

BODY Solid Mahogany
TOP Flame Maple Veneer
NECK (MATERIAL) Mahogany
NECK (BUILD) Set Neck
FINGERBOARD Rosewood
PICKGUARD Cream
BINDING Cream ABS Front
NUT (WIDTH) Cream ABS (43mm)
SCALE LENGTH 630mm
MACHINE HEADS Kluson Style with Tulip Buttons
HARDWARE Nickel
FINISH Cherry Sunburst Gloss
PICKUPS 2 x Entwistle Alnico HV58

Tanglewood DBT 6 BK LH Lefty Guitar

Patrick James Eggle Guitars is a UK based company who specialise in high-end acoustic guitars.  The guitars are all designed and built in England from where they are shipped to guitar players from all corners of the globe.

The company produces all eight of their guitars left handed at no additional charge, which is excellent to see!  Left handed guitar models are not kept in stock however, and as a result will need to be custom ordered which will incur a build time of roughly 8-12 weeks.

Let’s take a look at what’s on offer from this UK company…

Patrick James Eggle Etowah Left Handed Acoustic Guitar

With a 12 fret neck, shorter scale length and wider string spacing, the Etowah is an instrument built for fingerstyle players.

Soundboard: Alaskan Sitka Spruce
Back& Sides: Indian Rosewood
Neck: Mahogany
Fretboard: Ebony
Bridge: Ebony
Binding: Cocobolo
Nut & Saddle: Polished Bone
Tuners: Waverly nickel

Patrick James Eggle Saluda Lefty Acoustic Guitar

The Saluda is a nice all round guitar. Great for heavy strumming and picking alike.

Grosh Guitars is a premier builder of custom, high-end guitars, basses and pickups and was founded by Don Grosh in 1993.  Every guitar is handcrafted at the Grosh factory in Colorado, USA in order to deliver the ultimate experience in tone, looks and playability.

Rather unusually for a smaller, custom guitar brand they don’t offer too many left handed models, with only four available in total.  Unfortunately I was also told that depending on the model chosen there would be a rather hefty $200-$300 up-charge for a left handed guitar to be made.

Let’s take a look at what’s on offer from this USA brand…

Grosh Set Neck Custom Left Handed Guitar

The Set Neck Custom delivers all those great classic rich, thick and complex tones you’d expect from a set neck guitar with a short scale length and a mahogany/maple body. However, the Grosh offers much more – a truly original design engineered from the ground up to produce an instrument with unmatched balance, feel, tone and playability. Gutsy mids, firms lows and harmonically rich highs with a clarity and openness unlike any other set neck guitar. The Set Neck Custom takes the “LP’ vibe to a whole new level. Featuring master-grade, tone-tapped woods, old-growth Honduran mahogany, AAAAA maple, ultra-thin nitro-lacquer finish and handcrafted Grosh pickups.

Grosh Retro Classic Lefty Guitar

Every aspect of the Retro Classic is a complete re-design of the traditional “S”-style guitar, from the body dimensions, countours, balance and routing to the neck design, construction and headstock. A truly revolutionary instrument that brings tone, looks, balance and playability to a whole new level. From fat and chunk to sparkle, quack and chime, the Retro Classic delivers harmonically rich tones with an ease of playability that is simply unmatched. Featuring master-grade, tone-tapped woods, ultra-thin nitro-lacquer finish and handcrafted Grosh pickups.

Framus is a German guitar and amplifier brand which was founded in 1946 by Fred Wilfer.  Unfortunately, due to the rapidly changing market at the time, the company was forced into bankruptcy in 1975.  However the Framus name was revived in 1995 after being bought by German bass guitar brand Warwick.  The company now successfully produces a wide range of high-end guitars and tube amplifiers.

Framus are one of the few bigger name companies out there who are truly ‘lefty friendly’ as they produce nearly all of their guitars in a left handed format at no extra charge.  The only guitars which are not available left handed are the Vintage Series and the Earl Slick signature series.  Great work from Framus indeed!

There are far too many guitars to fit in a single article so I have broken the choices down into their ‘families’.  Descriptions will be brief as the guitars in each family each differ from one another in various ways, so be sure to check out the Framus website for detailed specs.  Besides, you just come here for the pretty pictures right? ;)

Framus Panthera Series Left Handed Guitars

The gorgeous singlecut Panthera range from Framus is available in a wide variety of different finishes, wood configurations, bridges, pickup choices, and even has a 7-string model on offer.  Check out the Framus website to obtain detailed specs for each different model.

Framus Diablo Series Lefty Guitars

The stunning Diablo range from Framus is available in a wide variety of different finishes, wood configurations, bridges, pickup choices, and even has a 7-string model on offer.  Check out the Framus website for the skinny on each different model.

G&L Guitars was founded in California, USA in 1979 by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Dale Hyat.  The company name is formed from the initials of George and Leo.  G&L instruments are similar to the classic Fenders, but with a few modern innovations which makes them highly regarded by many musicians and collectors.

As a left handed guitar player it may be difficult getting your hands on a G&L as there are only 3 lefty models on offer from this USA brand.  Also take into account that G&L are not very widely distributed so owning one of these could be a rare privilege indeed.

Let’s take a look…

G&L Legacy Left Handed Guitar

• PICKUPS 3 Fullerton-made G&L vintage style Alnico V single coil pickups
• BODY WOOD Swamp Ash
• NECK WOOD Hard Rock Maple with Rosewood fingerboard
• NECK RADIUS 9″ (228.6mm)
• NECK WIDTH AT  NUT 1 5/8″ (41.3mm)
• TUNING KEYS 18:1 ratio, sealed-back
• BRIDGE G&L Dual Fulcrum vibrato with nickel plated die-cast saddles
• CONTROLS 5 position pickup selector, volume, PTB system
• FINISH 3-Tone Sunburst with Tortoise Shell pickguard
• OTHER G&L Deluxe Gig Bag included in USA

G&L ASAT Classic Lefty Guitar